Between Place and Perception
LEONI (Leoni A. Jäkel) is a contemporary artist working between Cologne, Germany, and Leonidio in the Peloponnese, Greece. This transnational context forms a central framework for her artistic practice, shaping both her conceptual approach and material sensibility. Rooted in painting, photography, and site-responsive work, her oeuvre unfolds at the intersection of abstract visual language, environmental perception, and cultural reflection.
Her work is informed by a sustained engagement with place – not as a static backdrop, but as a dynamic field of experience. The dialogue between Northern European clarity and the atmospheric intensity of the Mediterranean landscape plays a defining role in her artistic development. LEONI’s practice is characterised by a reduction of form and a heightened sensitivity to light, texture, and spatial presence.
Artistic Practice
At the core of LEONI’s work lies an exploration of relational space – between body and environment, perception and memory, abstraction and lived experience. Her compositions often draw on elemental motifs such as water and land, which function not merely as visual references, but as metaphoric structures. Water appears as a carrier of movement, transformation, and emotional resonance, while land suggests grounding, boundary, and belonging.
Through a restrained yet evocative visual language, LEONI constructs spaces of contemplation that invite viewers to engage with processes of transition and orientation. Her works resist narrative closure; instead, they open a field of perception that is both introspective and expansive. In this way, her practice articulates a nuanced reflection on identity and place within an increasingly fluid and interconnected world.
Awards:
2010 13. OKP of Jean Gebser Academy Fine Arts Leipzig Germany
2025 Certificate of Merit, Korea Art International Exchange Association
Exhibitions (selection):
Paris Carrousel Louvre, 2025
Art Cologne Unframed", 2025
Miami Art week, 2025
32th Art International Open Exhibition, Seoul/South Korea
Literature:
Wasserbilder und Selbstbildnisse. Gemälde und Fotoarbeiten (de/gr), ArtForum Editions 2025
Art, Nature and Transcendence. ArtForum Editions 2026
LINKS:
Homepage
Winter Stiftung Hamburg
Artforum Culture Foundation